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Express Lift
The Express Lift Company was the oldest UK-based elevator division that belongs to General Electric Company (GEC) and based in Northampton, England. It was acquired by Otis in 1997. History The Express Lift Company was formed in 1917 as a merger between Easton Lift Company and The General Electric Company (GEC). In the 1920s, the company began using Ward Leonard equipment under license from Westinghouse. In 1930, Smith, Major & Stevens merged with Express LiftSmith, Major and Stevens and productions moved to the Abbey Works in Northampton. The company installed its first escalator in 1932 at the Earl Court Exhibition Centre in London. The escalator was based on Westinghouse's design. In 1950, Express Lift expanded its business to South Africa by acquiring local company Premier Lift Company. In the late 1970s, a lift testing tower called Express Lift Tower (now National Lift Tower) was built in Northampton, England to facilitate lift/elevator testing and research of Express Lift. It was completed in 1982. Also in 1978, Express Lift launched its first group control elevator system with microprocessors. In 1995, Express Lift merged with Leicester-based Evans Lifts to form ExpressEvans. Two years later, ExpressEvans was taken over by Otis. In addition, the elevator division of General Electric Company in Hong Kong was taken over by Otis in 1999. After ExpressEvans was taken over, Otis Elevator Company has revived the ExpressEvans brand in both UK (ExpressEvans)Otis is now using ExpressEvans name again! and Hong Kong (Express)Express Traction Elevator at Front Wing, Montane Mansion, Quarry Bay, Hong KongNowadays, Express (Hong Kong) which is a distributor of Diebold Aufzüge (elevators) and Hyundai (escalators). in which nowadays both companies are subsidiaries of Otis. The name ExpressEvans is also used in the new Gen2-based Express MRL elevator in the UK. Also in 2003, EXPRESS Elevator Co., Ltd. was set up in Suzhou, China as a subsidiary of Otis and belongs to their subsidiary, SigmaBrand History - EXPRESS. National Lift Tower The National Lift Tower (previously called The Express Lift Tower and known locally as the 'Northampton Lighthouse') is a lift testing tower built by the Express Lift Company located in Weedon Road in Northampton, England. The structure was commissioned in 1978 with construction commencing in 1980, and was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on November 12, 1982. Elevator fixtures Notable installations Trivia *In New Zealand, most Express Lift elevators are maintained by Schindler and have Schindler name plate (many have not been modernized by them, but they still have Schindler name plate). *A few Express Lift elevators are often labelled as GEC (General Electric Company) or GEC ExpressExpress lift with GEC logo and all of those brand are not appeared in the United Kingdom. *Express Lift also made their own escalators, but these are extremely rare. An example was found in The Arcade (Raffles Place), Singapore which was installed in 1981 and branded as GECVideo about a very rare GEC escalator in Singapore. However, this has been completely replaced with new Schindler escalator in late 2016. *Express Lift was also the sole agent of Fiam elevators in Hong Kong and Singapore. *Express also made escalators under partnership with Fiam, and branded as "Express Fiam"Express Fiam Escalator. Express had installed Fiam elevators mainly in Singapore and Hong Kong, and this relationship may have led to Express making escalators with Fiam. *Express Lift also made DMR control system (DMR stands for Drag Magnet Regulator), a programmed elevator system for high-rise buildings based on Westinghouse's "Select-o-Matic" elevator system in the United States. The DMR elevators were developed under partnership with Westinghouse. *Express Lift also had a product licensing with the Australian-based Elevators Pty. Ltd. (or known as EPL KONE), therefore some older EPL KONE elevator machinery equipments are often have the Express Lifts brand badge.Express Lifts nameplate on EPL KONE machinery In addition, Express Lift elevators in Australia were distributed by Elevators Pty. Ltd. *Express Lift also supplied elevators for the Housing and Development Board (HDB) public housing flats in Singapore in the mid-1990s, probably as part of HDB's Main Upgrading Programme (MUP). Before the that, they also supplied a small number of elevators in the 1960s, mainly in blocks built in Toa Payoh where almost all of them were replaced by Fujitec in the 1980s and 1990s. Gallery Logos and nameplates Express Lift badge old 1.jpg|1960s-1980s Express Lift badge (1). Express Lift badge old 2.jpg|1960s-1980s Express Lift badge (2). Old Express Lifts instruction sign.jpg|1960s Express Lift instruction sign Express Lift SMS badge.jpg|Old Express Lift brand badge with SMS Lifts name in New Zealand. (credit to WaygoodOtis) Express_SMS_Lifts_name_plate.JPG‎|Old Express Lift brand badge with SMS Lifts name in New Zealand. (credit to WaygoodOtis) Express Lift nameplate HDB.jpg|Express Lift nameplate commonly found in HDB flats in Singapore. Screenshot_2014-12-12-09-49-54.png|General Electric Company (GEC) nameplate on a 1981 GEC escalator in The Arcade, Singapore (Credit to Instagram user Alexander Yap) Express Lifts Logo.jpg|The new logo used in the United Kingdom. 1993 GEC Express HK plate.jpg|Express Lift nameplate in Hong Kong (with GEC Hong Kong logo). Others Express Lift HDB.jpg|Express Lift installed under the Lift Upgrading Programme scheme in Blk. 81A Toa Payoh HDB, Singapore (installed in 1995). Express Lifts Blk 5 Boon Keng.jpg|Express Lift elevators at Block 5 Boon Keng Road HDB, Singapore. Express Lift Blk 5 Boon Keng inside.jpg|Inside one of the two Express Lift elevators (Lift A) at Block 5 Boon Keng Road HDB, Singapore. External Links *Official website of National Lift Tower *Express Lift in Beno Lift Guide *Express Lift history booklet from 1982 *History diagram in General Electric Company *National Lift Tower - Wikipedia *Express Lifts (Nowadays small elevator company in Hong Kong) *EXPRESS Elevator Co., Ltd. (Suzhou, China) Category:Elevator divisions Category:Elevator divisions that have been acquired Category:Defunct elevator divisions Category:Elevator companies that have been acquired Category:Elevator companies based in Europe